Ristaccia Swords
can be seen in the center.]] The '''Ristaccia Swords '''are legendary weapons, which all bear one piece of Ristaccia in order to increase their power. Not only do they increase the attack power of the weapon, but they also improve their user's intelligence and physical strength, sometimes even giving them supernatural powers. Thanks to all of these unique qualities, Ristaccia pieces were used in weapons very actively during the Ristaccia war. Since then, the swords bearing the pieces have remained, and their users are most often heroes of the Chapters, with Lien Clewing and Malchut being the only main protagonists to never use them. Although all of these advantages make the Ristaccia swords very appealing, they have a major drawback. As Ristaccia is present within them all, L'erisia also lies within, as the source of those unnatural powers. Thus, in her constant and unstoppable cycle of prosperity and doom, the swords' owners find themselves either plunged in misery, or, in extreme cases, become her puppets through some unexplained possession. List of the Ristaccia Swords Throughout the Epic of Zektbach, five Ristaccia swords have been known to exist. La Colada d'El Cid According to Chapter 1, la Colada d'El Cid is a "legendary scimitar", that lies in a sand cave south of the City of Amuss in the Kingdom of Azuellgatt. It is unknown which race actually made the sword in the first place, or why it was at all located in that cave. After hearing the rumor of the Colada's existence from a bandit she had arrested, Shamshir disappeared by surprise to go look for it. When she returned after a long time, she asked to her father to be appointed as chief commander of Azuellgatt's army, in a time of war against Noigllado. With the sword's power, Shamshir's battle dance became even more deadly, and she pushed all of Noigllado's army away. Even though the Colada's bearer enjoyed a time of glory, eventually, the Ristaccia sword came to get its payback, and under its influence, the battle dance started to rage through Isfaphan's streets. Since Shamshir had become a threat, she was to be executed ; however, she instead doomed her entire kingdom, falling under Ristaccia's full control. The sword possessed her for quite a while, as she hunted and killed Lien Clewing with it. Despite this powerful influence, however, A'milia managed to break the sword's curse on her own. Most likely, Shamshir ditches la Colada d'El Cid when she goes to fight against L'erisia. This sword's name is that of a supposedly real sword that is rumoured to have belonged to the legendary Spanish hero named "El Cid", who fought in the Reconquista (the war in which Christian sovereigns of Europe fought against the Muslims to reconquer the Iberic peninsula), both alongside Christians and Muslims - although the latter is way less known, and he is remembered as a Chrisitian hero. However, the "real" Colada was not a scimitar. Trisagion A sword most likely forged by the Humina race, it is considered as holy by the religious group linked to it, the Trisagionid, which influence is considerable in Galukia - so considerable, the Holy Kingdom of Noigllado was formed around it. The reason for this belief is that the Humina race was the sole surviver of the Eight Ancient Races after Sigma's creation - at least, so it believed. But as they had no way to explain this fact, some of them thought that the Ristaccia gem, considered holy before the war, had protected them through the Trisagion blade. These people, the first of the Trisagionid group, had resurrected a cult that existed before the Great War - and they deemed Trisagion "The Sword of Hope". As Noigllado formed itself, Trisagion became its ruler's hallmark, and they would wield it as a sign of their power's legitimacy. It is unknown if the blade was used in any war before the Epic's chapters first mention it ; it is possible that it only served a symbolic function, as wielding Trisagion was an ability that only Noigllado's leader had. Trisagion is unheard of in the Chapters up until the third one. Behind this chapter's events is the Agiona agency, who now secretly decided of the next leader to come. As the new generation comprised not one, but two royal babies, who happened to be perfect twins, they decided that the one who would wield Trisagion would rule, to let the people believe their power is legitimate. Agiona did not care which one of the twins it would be, since whichever would be chosen would have no real power anyway, only serving as a helpless figurehead. Thanks to this reasoning and contrary to the Holy Kingdom's tradition, the one who sat on the throne was a girl, despite having a twin brother. This happening led to some of the last events to happen in the Epic's chronology. Trisagion itself, though, is never heard of again, but it is seen in the Blind Justice PV, as Matin brandishes it in front of the people to declare war to her brother's rebel forces. After this, she most likely fights with it, but ditches it for the final showdown with L'erisia. The name "Trisagion", meaning "three times holy" in greek, is a Christian hymn consisting of the words "Holy God, Holy Strong, Holy Immortal". It is mostly used in the Eastern churches, of Orthodox and Catholic rites, but can be found in the rites of the Catholic Church even in its Latin rite, for Good Friday. This is referenced in Zektbach lore with the track Trisagion ~Prayer of Purification~ ; the Christian Trisagion is said to have stopped a deadly earthquake. Tyrfing Also called "The Sword of Despair", Tyrfing is the twin blade to Trisagion ; as such, it also is most probably a product of the Humina race. Unlike its twin, however, Tyrfing is not considered holy, and it may even be thought of as a cursed weapon ; the reason why it would specifically be, even though all Ristaccia blades are cursed in a way, is unknown. Tyrfing's history is completely unknown, even though it is the twin blade of Trisagion, which story is an important pillar of some of the Epic's happenings. There is no information about its historical wielders, or the place where it resides prior to its acquisition by its first known owner. This first owner is Nox Catorce, Matin's younger twin brother, who took possession of it some time after he was brought away from Novarista by his adoptive father Adhuc. The Sword of Despair then follows its reputation as it makes Nox's hatred for his sister and her Kingdom grow and grow, to the point where his heart becomes a complete hole in the Blind Justice PV. The only known use of Tyrfing is in the war between the Noigllado forces and Nox's rebellion. But, as that war is stopped by A'milia's arrival and Matin and Nox fuse together, both Tyrfing and Trisagion either fuse as well, or are simply ditched by their owner(s). Tyrfing originates from Nordic mythology. It is a magical and cursed sword, forged by two dwarves named Dvalinn and Durin under the orders of a king named Svafrlami. It is said to be alive and to immediately transmit a deadly rage to its wielder ; it does not rust, never misses a stroke, and cuts through rocks and iron as easily as it cuts through fabrics. In exchange for the power it grants, its curse makes it so a man is killed every time the blade is drawn ; it also causes three great evils for each victory it brings. Apocalypse A mysterious sword that lay in the Spring of Lourdes on the Abandoned Island, its origin is completely unknown, as well as its history. It was hidden away by the Spring, and only was revealed when it dried up. Its presence inside the water was what caused it to be "miraculous", Apocalypse is perhaps the most powerful of all Ristaccia blades. When Hannes discovered it after the Spring turned dry, it started to possess her before she even fought with it once, as soon as she grabbed it, meaning L'erisia's persuasive power is way stronger in it than in any of the other swords. It also has a considerably larger destructive power, on top of being able to persuade living creatures more easily ; under its influence, Hannes does not even have to use it in a regular fashion, but only to merely raise it, for the Abandoned Island to catch entirely on fire. This, however, may be due to the accumulation of good the Spring that was born from it had brought, that proportionally led to insane amounts of negative counter energy being stored. The name "Apocalypse" is, at its core, a greek word meaning "revelation", and it is the title of the final book from the christian Bible. As this book describes the end of the world in the christian point of view, the name also became synonymous with "end of the world". Ame no Hoakari A blade forged by the Kagachin Humina to bear the piece of Ristaccia their leader Sonigi had found in the Junaguni Island ruins, it was considered the hallmark of the Kagachin ruler, and was a prideful heritage in the time when the Kagachi-jin still were a prideful people - a time that is way older than the Melius Calendar. However, that same blade that they respected also brought the Kagachin disaster, following Ristaccia's eternal cycle. When the Gadena race of giants, at this time not extinct, approached their settlements with a seemingly dangerous behavior, Sonigi raised Ame no Hoakari in the air threateningly, hoping to scare the monsters away. Instead, the piece of the jewel embedded in the sword awakened the Gadena and brought them conscience, adding intellect to their great amount of brute force. This led to them genociding the Kagachin. Six hundred years later, Gijiri, descendant of the survivors, became Ame no Hoakari's new owner. The only known time where he does use it is at the end of Chapter 5, intending to slay Malchut, but instead killing Kukaru. Ame no Hoakari is a deity from shinto myths, mentioned in the Kojiki as "The Heavenly Deity of Bright Fire". Category:Epic of Zektbach Category:Objects